Homogeneous Layer (homogeneous + layer)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Tuning and Transcription of the Supramolecular Organization of a Fluorescent Silsesquioxane Precursor into Silica-Based Materials through Direct Photochemical Hydrolysis,Polycondensation and Micropatterning

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 3 2009
Xavier Sallenave
Abstract A new fluorescent silsequioxane precursor with tuned optical properties and controlled aggregation properties is designed. The two cyclohexyl moieties introduced in the molecular structure allow the formation of very good quality films. The J-aggregated structure is transcribed into the solid by photoacid-catalyzed hydrolysis,polycondensation. Aggregation of the chromophores is reduced and highly fluorescent materials are obtained. The photoacid generator lies on the surface of the homogeneous layer of the sol,gel precursor. This phase separation presents several advantages, including UV protection of the chromophore and easy removal of the PAG. The first example of chemical amplification in the photolithography of the conjugated silsesquioxane precursor is demonstrated. As hydrolysis,polycondensation could be achieved in a controlled way by UV exposure, chemically amplified photolithography is achieved by irradiating a composite film (,110,nm thick) on silicon wafer by using a copper TEM grid as shadow mask. The pattern is produced uniformly on a miscroscopic scale of 3,mm, the photopatterned pixels remaining highly fluorescent. The sizes of the photolithographed pixels correspond to the sizes of the rectangular holes of the 300,×,75 mesh grid (hole: 63,<$>,<$>m,×,204,<$>,<$>m). [source]


Assessing the impact of the hydraulic properties of a crusted soil on overland flow modelling at the field scale

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 8 2006
Nanée Chahinian
Abstract Soil surface crusts are widely reported to favour Hortonian runoff, but are not explicitly represented in most rainfall-runoff models. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of soil surface crusts on infiltration and runoff modelling at two spatial scales, i.e. the local scale and the plot scale. At the local scale, two separate single ring infiltration experiments are undertaken. The first is performed on the undisturbed soil, whereas the second is done after removal of the soil surface crust. The HYDRUS 2D two-dimensional vertical infiltration model is then used in an inverse modelling approach, first to estimate the soil hydraulic properties of the crust and the subsoil, and then the effective hydraulic properties of the soil represented as a single uniform layer. The results show that the crust hydraulic conductivity is 10 times lower than that of the subsoil, thus illustrating the limiting role the crust has on infiltration. Moving up to the plot scale, a rainfall-runoff model coupling the Richards equation to a transfer function is used to simulate Hortonian overland flow hydrographs. The previously calculated hydraulic properties are used, and a comparison is undertaken between a single-layer and a double-layer representation of the crusted soil. The results of the rainfall-runoff model show that the soil hydraulic properties calculated at the local scale give acceptable results when used to model runoff at the plot scale directly, without any numerical calibration. Also, at the plot scale, no clear improvement of the results can be seen when using a double-layer representation of the soil in comparison with a single homogeneous layer. This is due to the hydrological characteristics of Hortonian runoff, which is triggered by a rainfall intensity exceeding the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil surface. Consequently, the rainfall-runoff model is more sensitive to rainfall than to the subsoil's hydrodynamic properties. Therefore, the use of a double-layer soil model to represent runoff on a crusted soil does not seem necessary, as the increase of precision in the soil discretization is not justified by a better performance of the model. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Chemically induced deformation of a porous layer coupled with advective,dispersive transport.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 8 2001
Analytical solutions
Abstract In this paper a chemically induced deformation of porous material taking place during advective,dispersive transport of a chemical is considered. Linearized governing equations are derived and analytical solutions of 2 one-dimensional problems for a homogeneous layer with drained boundaries are developed. Numerical results for a particular clayey material and a chemical migrating through the layer showing distributions of concentration of chemical, changes in porosity of the material and pore fluid pressure, and evolution of settlement of the layer as functions of time are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Non-reflecting artificial boundaries for transient scalar wave propagation in a two-dimensional infinite homogeneous layer

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 10 2003
Chongbin Zhao
Abstract This paper presents an exact non-reflecting boundary condition for dealing with transient scalar wave propagation problems in a two-dimensional infinite homogeneous layer. In order to model the complicated geometry and material properties in the near field, two vertical artificial boundaries are considered in the infinite layer so as to truncate the infinite domain into a finite domain. This treatment requires the appropriate boundary conditions, which are often referred to as the artificial boundary conditions, to be applied on the truncated boundaries. Since the infinite extension direction is different for these two truncated vertical boundaries, namely one extends toward x ,, and another extends toward x,- ,, the non-reflecting boundary condition needs to be derived on these two boundaries. Applying the variable separation method to the wave equation results in a reduction in spatial variables by one. The reduced wave equation, which is a time-dependent partial differential equation with only one spatial variable, can be further changed into a linear first-order ordinary differential equation by using both the operator splitting method and the modal radiation function concept simultaneously. As a result, the non-reflecting artificial boundary condition can be obtained by solving the ordinary differential equation whose stability is ensured. Some numerical examples have demonstrated that the non-reflecting boundary condition is of high accuracy in dealing with scalar wave propagation problems in infinite and semi-infinite media. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Human tissue-engineered bone produced in clinically relevant amounts using a semi-automated perfusion bioreactor system: a preliminary study

JOURNAL OF TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, Issue 1 2010
F. W. Janssen
Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate a semi-automated perfusion bioreactor system for the production of clinically relevant amounts of human tissue-engineered bone. Human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) of eight donors were dynamically seeded and proliferated in a perfusion bioreactor system in clinically relevant volumes (10 cm3) of macroporous biphasic calcium phosphate scaffolds (BCP particles, 2,6 mm). Cell load and distribution were shown using methylene blue staining. MTT staining was used to demonstrate viability of the present cells. After 20 days of cultivation, the particles were covered with a homogeneous layer of viable cells. Online oxygen measurements confirmed the proliferation of hBMSCs in the bioreactor. After 20 days of cultivation, the hybrid constructs became interconnected and a dense layer of extracellular matrix was present, as visualized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the hBMSCs showed differentiation towards the osteogenic lineage as was indicated by collagen type I production and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression. We observed no significant differences in osteogenic gene expression profiles between static and dynamic conditions like ALP, BMP2, Id1, Id2, Smad6, collagen type I, osteocalcin, osteonectin and S100A4. For the donors that showed bone formation, dynamically cultured hybrid constructs showed the same amount of bone as the statically cultured hybrid constructs. Based on these results, we conclude that a semi-automated perfusion bioreactor system is capable of producing clinically relevant and viable amounts of human tissue-engineered bone that exhibit bone-forming potential after implantation in nude mice. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Invertibility of Helmholtz operators for nonhomogeneous medias

MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 4 2010
Vladimir Rabinovich
Abstract The paper is devoted to the investigation of the Helmholtz operators (1) describing the propagation of acoustic waves in non-homogeneous space. We consider the operator A with a wave number k such that where k0 is a positive function, k± are complex constants with ,(k)>0. The Helmholtz operator A with such wave number describes the propagation of acoustic waves in the waveguides being no homogeneous layer between two absorbing half-space. We prove that the operator A has an inverse operator A - 1 bounded in the Hilbert space L2(,n). Our proof is based on the limit operators method. We also consider the construction of the inverse operator for the Helmholtz operator A, with the density , = ,(xn) depending on xn only and wave number k0 = k0(,x,, xn) depending on a small parameter ,>0 which characterizes the slowness of variation of the wave number in the horizontal direction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Study of Langmuir,Blodgett phospholipidic films deposited on surface enhanced Raman scattering active gold nanoparticle monolayers

BIOPOLYMERS, Issue 4-5 2002
S. Bernard
Abstract Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was used to study phospholipid monolayers transferred by the Langmuir,Blodgett (LB) technique to SERS active substrates. These substrates, which were constituted of gold colloidal nanoparticles bound to polysilane films grafted onto glass plates, showed a uniform and homogeneous layer with strong interacting particles as revealed from UV,visible extinction spectra and atomic force microscopy images. Laser excitation at 632.8 nm within the red part of the localized surface plasmon resonance leads to intense and reproducible SERS spectra of trans -1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (BPE). From SERS measurements at different pHs it was possible to determine the apparent pKa of BPE adsorbed on gold-coated silanized substrates in the absence and presence of one LB monomolecular layer of phospholipids. These SERS titrations allowed the estimation of the pH at the metal,LB film interface. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Biospectroscopy) 67: 314,318, 2002 [source]


Carbon Nanotube Coatings on Bioglass-Based Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 15 2007
R. Boccaccini
Abstract The coating of highly porous Bioglass® based 3D scaffolds with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) was investigated. Foam like Bioglass® scaffolds were fabricated by the replica technique and electrophoretic deposition was used to deposit homogeneous layers of CNT throughout the scaffold pore structure. The optimal experimental conditions were determined to be: applied voltage 15,V and deposition time 20 minutes, utilizing a concentrated aqueous suspension of CNT with addition of a surfactant and iodine. The scaffold pore structure remained invariant after the CNT coating, as assessed by SEM. The incorporation of CNTs induced a nanostructured internal surface of the pores which is thought to be beneficial for osteoblast cell attachment and proliferation. Bioactivity of the scaffolds was assessed by immersion studies in simulated body fluid (SBF) for periods of up to 2 weeks and the subsequent determination of hydroxyapatite (HA) formation. The presence of CNTs can enhance the bioactive behaviour of the scaffolds since CNTs can serve as template for the ordered formation of a nanostructured HA layers, which does not occur on uncoated Bioglass® surfaces. [source]


Structure of PbTe(SiO2)/SiO2 multilayers deposited on Si(111)

JOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2010
Guinther Kellermann
The structure of thin films composed of a multilayer of PbTe nanocrystals embedded in SiO2, named as PbTe(SiO2), between homogeneous layers of amorphous SiO2 deposited on a single-crystal Si(111) substrate was studied by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) as a function of PbTe content. PbTe(SiO2)/SiO2 multilayers were produced by alternately applying plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition and pulsed laser deposition techniques. From the analysis of the experimental GISAXS patterns, the average radius and radius dispersion of PbTe nanocrystals were determined. With increasing deposition dose the size of the PbTe nanocrystals progressively increases while their number density decreases. Analysis of the GISAXS intensity profiles along the normal to the sample surface allowed the determination of the period parameter of the layers and a structure parameter that characterizes the disorder in the distances between PbTe layers. [source]


Organization and mode of secretion of the granular prismatic microstructure of Entodesma navicula (Bivalvia: Mollusca)

ACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 2 2009
Elizabeth M. Harper
The term homogeneous has been applied to molluscan microstructures that lack a readily discernible microstructure and as a result, it has become rather a ,dustbin' term, covering a multitude of unrelated finely crystalline textures. Here we investigate in detail the outer ,homogeneous' layer of the lyonsiid bivalve Entodesma navicula. The apparently equigranular crystals (up to 10 µm) are, in fact, short prisms which grow in a dense organic matrix with their c -axes and fibre axes coincident, perpendicular to the growth surface. These prisms are distinct from the aragonitic prisms grown by other bivalves in both their morphology and their mode of growth and so we propose the term granular prismatic microstructure. The organic content of granular prisms (7.4%) is the highest yet recorded for any molluscan microstructure and it is apparent that the short prisms have grown within a gel-filled space. Although this high organic content is likely to make the microstructure metabolically expensive to produce, it has the benefit of making the valves very flexible. This may be advantageous in the intertidal zone inhabited by E. navicula by allowing a tight seal between the valves. [source]